Lullaby
by Rowen Hashiba Of Tenku Co
Summary: Song-fic. Reflects on the past of one Ronin through memoirs by his mother, Naoko.


Lullaby  
By Fallon Sanada  
  
  
A/N: Song used is "Washu's Lullaby" from the Tenchi Muyo!/Universe/In Tokyo/etc. soundtrack.  
Japanese words used: Arigato (you know what that means, right?), and sumimasen (I'm sorry). Please R&R.  
Depicts Sage's life both before and after becoming a Ronin. Go figure.  
Scene four shows how Sage got the kanji. Might not be the right info. It's been a while since I wrote a Sage fic.  
  
  
  
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April roses, tiny sparrows, comets bright and new,  
All belong together with the mystery that is you.  
When I see your little face,  
I hear a song from long ago,  
I think you know the many secrets I've forgotten.  
----------  
  
Naoko Date looked down at her four-year-old son, Sage.  
She was tall, with dark-brown hair and eyes, and sat on the edge of the bed, watching Sage sleep.  
For his part, Sage was fast asleep, strangely blonde hair falling into closed ice-lavender eyes.  
"Sleep tight, little one." She whispered, kissing him on the forehead.  
On her way out, she looked back to him.  
"You're going to be important in more ways than one, my son." She muttered, "you are so smart, surely you know how special you are."  
Then she left the room.  
  
----------  
Generations through the ages joined as one somehow,  
Leading to the miracle that I am holding now.  
From the sky, and from the sea, upon a breeze, you came to me,  
You seem to see a greater universe than I do.  
----------  
  
Two years later, Sage had grown some, but was still the thin, blonde-haired child he had always been, and always would be.  
Sighing, Naoko reflected on how much Sage's personality had changed. Or rather, hadn't changed.  
Most boys grew up with their attitudes, likes, and dislikes ever changing, but it didn't seem that way with Sage.  
He had always been a quiet boy, mainly because of his grandfather's training, but also because it was just his nature. Naoko was quite sure that Sage knew much more than the average person, let alone the average six-year-old.  
Quietly, she watched him play with a few small toys he had gotten from his father for his birthday the month before.  
Sighing, she returned to her needlework.  
  
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Sleep my baby, sleep my baby,  
Dream of somewhere far away.  
Do you remember still,  
How I hope you always will,  
Keep the memory of the day the world was born.  
----------  
  
Walking beside her son in the park, Naoko tried not to pay attention to the cherry blossoms that fell on her hair, now streaked with a few strands of grey.  
Sage, now nine, walked ahead of her, pale-lavender eyes wide as he looked around him in child-like curiousity.  
Well, not quite childlike, Naoko told herself, nothing Sage ever does is entirely childlike.  
Indeed, he acted entirely too adult for her liking. He wasn't like his older sister Yayoi, who, she sometimes thought, never grew up, or his younger sister Satsuki, who acted like a completely normal seven-year-old girl. Then again, neither of them looked quite like Sage, either, nor did they have as many problems in school due to that appearence.  
At one point Naoko had even considered home-schooling Sage, but the boy had insisted that he was fine, he didn't need her help to get along in life, thank you.  
Sage was sometimes sick, quite a bit more often than his sisters- or, for that matter, anyone in the family. That plus the fact that he insisted that he could do anything Yayoi could do made for trouble, especially if he was sick and Yayoi wanted to do something outside the house.  
Oh well, Naoko thought, he's a boy, not a girl.  
Thank the gods. They had an heir for the Date family.  
His name was Sage Date.  
  
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When you wake up, I'll be waiting eager for your smile.  
You've had quite a journey darling, you should rest a while.  
When you cry, we still rejoice, to hear your voice,  
Oh yes it's true, my sweet Washu,  
Please understand how much we love you.  
----------  
  
Naoko watched silently, in horror, as her son fought with another boy. Her father, Sage's grandfather, had forced Sage into this fight, not giving him any other option.  
She wished he would just be able to give up.  
Breathing heavily, twelve-year-old Sage Date brought the blade up to counter his opponents move, once again blocking.  
This went on for quite some time, Sage holding his own even against his sixteen-year-old opponent, neither being able to gain ground nor strike the other.  
Finally, Sage felt a pull in the corner of his mind, warning him of something. He ignored it, since he didn't see any immediate danger.  
Then he saw it, two seconds too late. His opponent reached down, grabbing up a hand-full of sand, and throwing it into Sage's face.  
Coughing, Sage glared daggers at his opponent, ice-lavender eyes darkening in color to a frightening deep violet color as his anger took control.  
He stole a glance to the crowd around the arena. They hadn't noticed the dirty trick his opponent had pulled. That fact only made Sage angrier.  
Sage swiped his sunlight-blonde hair out of his other eye, both eyes now showing.  
He saw the other boy's eyes widen as he saw both of those ice-cold, dark-violet eyes, glaring darkly at him.  
That was his chance.  
Raising the wooden blade and knocked the opponents face-protector off in the one move.  
About ten minutes later he realized how bad a mistake that was.  
His grandfather had banished him to the basement until further notice. He was there now, and he couldn't see anything. He hated the dark.  
Suddenly he saw a light in the corner, brilliant green, illuminating the room with a pale glow.  
Walking over to it, he picked up the glowing object. It was a round ball about as big as his palm, and it glowed even more fiercely when he held it.  
But he had no idea what it was.  
  
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Sleep my baby, sleep my baby,  
Later on perhaps,  
You'll tell the wonderous things you've seen,  
More miraculous than dreams,  
Tell me all about the day the world was born.  
----------  
  
Naoko sighed, looking at her blonde fourteen-year-old son, who sat reading on the couch.  
He hadn't spoken to her all day, except for the necessary. They hadn't really talked since he had arrived back from a three-month period of being missing. He never did tell her what had happened, but he seemed changed by it. He was even quieter than he had been before, grim and silent.  
She wondered what was wrong with him, what had happened.  
  
----------  
Sleep my baby, sleep my baby,  
Dream of somewhere far away.  
Do you remember still,  
How I hope you always will,  
Keep the memory of the day the world was born.  
----------  
  
Naoko walked quietly into her son's room, thinking him asleep by now.  
"Mother..?" A voice asked. Sage, her fourteen-year-old son, who was supposedly asleep.  
"What is it, Sage?" She asked, hoping beyond hope that he would say something to her. She almost wished he would cry, or something, just to hear his voice. Finally, he spoke.  
"Thank you for being patient with me," he said, "I just need time to get back to normal."  
"I understand."  
"Arigato, Okaa-san. Arigato, and sumimasen." 


End file.
